Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my [b]neck. 2 I sink in deep mire, Where there is no standing; I have come into deep waters, Where the floods overflow me. 3 I am weary with my crying; My throat is dry; My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
Ink Sketch by Julie Sheppard aka Reiko Chinen
There are many times in our lives when we are drowning in our circumstances and it is so easy to lose hope, but He is always there to deliver us. Just reach out and call upon His name and He will save you.
For a good part of my life people have confused my name Julie with the name Lisa. It does not happen that often today but when I was younger it happened a lot! If the names sounded alike I could understand. When I would correct them and say my name is Julie, I would occasionally get the response of well you look like a Lisa. The really funny thing is there is an actual song, ‘I’m not Lisa’ by Jessi Colter. I had my own personal theme song and I was not famous! There was another time in my life where there was confusion about who I was. This was when I had moved to stay with my grandparents because my grandfather had a stroke. At one point he would say to me you are Julie but you are not Julie Ann, you are not Roy Lee’s daughter. We went through this daily for almost a month. His sister was visiting and when I had come home from one of my jobs I stopped to say hello before I got ready for my second job. Well the ‘You are Julie but not Julie Ann’ started again and by this time I was questioning who I was, but thankfully his sister told him, ‘That is Julie, she is Julie Ann and she is Roy’s daughter’. He turned to me smiled and asked, ‘Where have you been? I thought you moved back to California’. His sister explained that because he saw me everyday going to one job and coming home and getting cleaned up to go to my second job that in his mind I was two people. My day job I worked construction and then I worked as a cocktails waitress at night. So even my work clothes were very different. My identity was not defined by either of these jobs but to my grandfather it was confusing. We have enough problems about learning who we are but when others add to the confusion they are not helping especially when we have found our identity and know who we are. I am still learning a lot about myself but I know that I am a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a granddaughter, a niece, mother, aunt, grandmother, a friend, and I am a woman. None of these did I create, but what I was created to be, because my Father in Heaven created me. I am His, I am a child of God, a royal priesthood, and I am the head and not the tail because of Him. We are living in a world that is confusing the people about their identities let us not add to their confusion with hatred and condemnation, but let us love them as God loves them. This does not mean you agree with anything they believe, just love them the way God loves you and them. Let His love flow through you. I would like to share a link to another blog and their wonderful post on identity and then my theme song. Enjoy Post by Malcolmsmusings
I’m Not Lisa Lyrics/Jessi Colter/Produced by Waylon Jennings and Ken Mansfield 1975 [Chorus] I’m not Lisa My name is Julie Lisa left you years ago My eyes are not blue But mine won’t leave you ‘Til the sunlight has touched your face [Verse] She was your morning light Her smile told of no night Your love for her grew With each rising sun And then one winter day His hand led hers away She left you here Drowning in your tears Here, where you’ve stayed for years Crying Lisa, Lisa [Chorus] I’m not Lisa My name is Julie Lisa left you years ago My eyes are not blue But mine won’t leave you ‘Til the sunlight shines through your face [Outro] I’m not Lisa
Harden My Heart/Quarterflash [Verse 1] Crying on the corner Waiting in the rain I swear I will never ever wait again You gave me your word But words for you are lies [Pre-Chorus 1] Darling in my wildest dreams I never thought I’d go But it’s time to let you know [Chorus] I’m gonna harden my heart I’m gonna swallow my tears I’m gonna turn and leave you here [Verse 2] All of my life I’ve been waiting in the rain I’ve been waiting for a feeling that never ever came It feels so close but always disappears [Pre-Chorus 2] Darling in your wildest dreams You never had it good But it’s time you’ve got the news [Chorus] I’m gonna harden my heart I’m gonna swallow my tears I’m gonna turn and leave you here [Pre-Chorus 1] Darling in my wildest dreams I never thought I’d go But it’s time to you know
[Chorus] I’m gonna harden my heart I’m gonna swallow my tears I’m gonna turn And leave you here
[Outro] I’m gonna harden my heart I’m gonna swallow my tears I’m gonna harden my heart I’m gonna swallow my tears Harden my heart I’m gonna swallow my tears Oh oh oh oh Harden my heart I’m gonna harden my heart I’m gonna swallow my tears I’m gonna harden my heart I’m gonna swallow my tears Harden my heart I’m gonna swallow my tears Oh oh oh oh Harden my heart I’m gonna harden my heart
While reading a wonderful post by Mitch Teemley this song started running through my head. As the lyrics ran through my head, I was reminded of Moses and Pharaoh. Even though it was Pharaoh whose heart was hardened and not the heart of Moses. This song just seemed to fit the scene of Moses telling Pharaoh to let the Hebrew people go. In the first verse where she sings, ‘You gave me your word But words for you are lies’. I can hear Moses telling Pharaoh that he was a liar, because after each plague, he lied when he said that he would let them go. then his heart being hardened he did not. Then in the last line of the chorus, ‘ I’m gonna turn and leave you here’, I can see Moses responding that he was going to leave Pharaoh with the Hebrews. In verse 2 ‘All of my life I’ve been waiting in the rain, I’ve been waiting for a feeling that never ever came, It feels so close but always disappears’. Made me think about how these Hebrew people had only known slavery and the idea of freedom was not one they thought they could conceive. We know the rest of the story how after the last plague how they left Egypt and wandered the wilderness for forty years. Read Exodus chapters 4-12.
I hope you will also check out Mitch Teemley’s post.
Question; What is something in your life that you need to turn and leave behind?
song facts; Producer John Boylan “Harden My Heart” was originally released as a single in 1980 under the name Seafood Mama and became a regional success on radio stations in Portland, Oregon. After the band changed its name to Quarterflash, they made a new version of “Harden My Heart” which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped Billboard’s Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in 1982.
The answer for me is God’s Word. I have chosen to follow Jesus. Not just when it is convenient and when I will get what I want. Yet as I follow Him, He is beside me every step I take, picking me up when I stumble and fall. He is the way, the truth and life for me.
I still can remember the first time my mom had taken me and my brother camping. We went camping at Jackson lake in the Angeles Crest Forrest. It was actually more of a pond than a lake, but it was were I caught my first fish, using a homemade bamboo fishing pole. That was over 40 years ago. It gave me a love for nature, hiking and camping.
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